Chapter XXXVI: Total Extinction Of The Western Empire.—Part I.

Sack Of Rome By Genseric, King Of The Vandals.—His Naval
Depredations.—Succession Of The Last Emperors Of The West,
Maximus, Avitus, Majorian, Severus, Anthemius, Olybrius,
Glycerius, Nepos, Augustulus.—Total Extinction Of The
Western Empire.—Reign Of Odoacer, The First Barbarian King
Of Italy.

The loss or desolation of the provinces, from the Ocean to the Alps,
impaired the glory and greatness of Rome: her internal prosperity was
irretrievably destroyed by the separation of Africa. The rapacious
Vandals confiscated the patrimonial estates of the senators, and
intercepted the regular subsidies, which relieved the poverty and
encouraged the idleness of the plebeians. The distress of the Romans
was soon aggravated by an unexpected attack; and the province, so long
cultivated for their use by industrious and obedient subjects, was
armed against them by an ambitious Barbarian. The Vandals and Alani, who
followed the successful standard of Genseric, had acquired a rich and
fertile territory, which stretched along the coast above ninety days'
journey from Tangier to Tripoli; but their narrow limits were pressed
and confined, on either side, by the sandy desert and the Mediterranean.
The discovery and conquest of the Black nations, that might dwell
beneath the torrid zone, could not tempt the rational ambition of
Genseric; but he cast his eyes towards the sea; he resolved to create a
naval power, and his bold resolution was executed with steady and active
perseverance.

The woods of Mount Atlas afforded an inexhaustible nursery of
timber: his new subjects were skilled in the arts of navigation and
ship-building; he animated his daring Vandals to embrace a mode of
warfare which would render every maritime country accessible to their
arms; the Moors and Africans were allured by the hopes of plunder; and,
after an interval of six centuries, the fleets that issued from the port
of Carthage again claimed the empire of the Mediterranean. The success
of the Vandals, the conquest of Sicily, the sack of Palermo, and the
frequent descents on the coast of Lucania, awakened and alarmed the
mother of Valentinian, and the sister of Theodosius. Alliances were
formed; and armaments, expensive and ineffectual, were prepared, for the
destruction of the common enemy; who reserved his courage to encounter
those dangers which his policy could not prevent or elude. The designs
of the Roman government were repeatedly baffled by his artful delays,
ambiguous promises, and apparent concessions; and the interposition of
his formidable confederate, the king of the Huns, recalled the emperors
from the conquest of Africa to the care of their domestic safety. The
revolutions of the palace, which left the Western empire without a
defender, and without a lawful prince, dispelled the apprehensions, and
stimulated the avarice, of Genseric. He immediately equipped a numerous
fleet of Vandals and Moors, and cast anchor at the mouth of the Tyber,
about three months after the death of Valentinian, and the elevation of
Maximus to the Imperial throne.

The private life of the senator Petronius Maximus42084208 Sidonius Apollinaris composed the thirteenth epistle of the second book, to refute the paradox of his friend Serranus, who
entertained a singular, though generous, enthusiasm for the deceased emperor. This epistle, with some indulgence, may claim
the praise of an elegant composition; and it throws much light on the character of Maximus.
was often
alleged as a rare example of human felicity. His birth was noble and
illustrious, since he descended from the Anician family; his dignity
was supported by an adequate patrimony in land and money; and these
advantages of fortune were accompanied with liberal arts and decent
manners, which adorn or imitate the inestimable gifts of genius and
virtue. The luxury of his palace and table was hospitable and elegant.
Whenever Maximus appeared in public, he was surrounded by a train of
grateful and obsequious clients;42094209 Clientum, praevia, pedisequa, circumfusa, populositas, is the train which Sidonius himself (l. i. epist. 9) assigns to another
senator of rank
and it is possible that among these
clients, he might deserve and possess some real friends. His merit was
rewarded by the favor of the prince and senate: he thrice exercised the
office of Praetorian praefect of Italy; he was twice invested with the
consulship, and he obtained the rank of patrician. These civil honors
were not incompatible with the enjoyment of leisure and tranquillity;
his hours, according to the demands of pleasure or reason, were
accurately distributed by a water-clock; and this avarice of time may
be allowed to prove the sense which Maximus entertained of his own
happiness. The injury which he received from the emperor Valentinian
appears to excuse the most bloody revenge. Yet a philosopher might have
reflected, that, if the resistance of his wife had been sincere, her
chastity was still inviolate, and that it could never be restored if
she had consented to the will of the adulterer. A patriot would
have hesitated before he plunged himself and his country into those
inevitable calamities which must follow the extinction of the royal
house of Theodosius. The imprudent Maximus disregarded these salutary
considerations; he gratified his resentment and ambition; he saw the
bleeding corpse of Valentinian at his feet; and he heard himself saluted
Emperor by the unanimous voice of the senate and people. But the day of
his inauguration was the last day of his happiness. He was imprisoned
(such is the lively expression of Sidonius) in the palace; and after
passing a sleepless night, he sighed that he had attained the summit of
his wishes, and aspired only to descend from the dangerous elevation.
Oppressed by the weight of the diadem, he communicated his anxious
thoughts to his friend and quaestor Fulgentius; and when he looked back
with unavailing regret on the secure pleasures of his former life, the
emperor exclaimed, "O fortunate Damocles,42104210 Districtus ensis cui super impia Cervice pendet, non Siculoe dapes Dulcem elaborabunt saporem: Non avium citharaeque cantus
Somnum reducent. —Horat. Carm. iii. 1. Sidonius concludes his letter with the story of Damocles, which Cicero (Tusculan. v. 20, 21) had so inimitably told.
thy reign began and
ended with the same dinner;" a well-known allusion, which Fulgentius
afterwards repeated as an instructive lesson for princes and subjects.

The reign of Maximus continued about three months. His hours, of which
he had lost the command, were disturbed by remorse, or guilt, or terror,
and his throne was shaken by the seditions of the soldiers, the people,
and the confederate Barbarians. The marriage of his son Paladius with
the eldest daughter of the late emperor, might tend to establish the
hereditary succession of his family; but the violence which he offered
to the empress Eudoxia, could proceed only from the blind impulse of
lust or revenge. His own wife, the cause of these tragic events, had
been seasonably removed by death; and the widow of Valentinian was
compelled to violate her decent mourning, perhaps her real grief, and to
submit to the embraces of a presumptuous usurper, whom she suspected
as the assassin of her deceased husband. These suspicions were soon
justified by the indiscreet confession of Maximus himself; and he
wantonly provoked the hatred of his reluctant bride, who was still
conscious that she was descended from a line of emperors. From the East,
however, Eudoxia could not hope to obtain any effectual assistance;
her father and her aunt Pulcheria were dead; her mother languished at
Jerusalem in disgrace and exile; and the sceptre of Constantinople was
in the hands of a stranger. She directed her eyes towards Carthage;
secretly implored the aid of the king of the Vandals; and persuaded
Genseric to improve the fair opportunity of disguising his rapacious
designs by the specious names of honor, justice, and compassion.42114211 Notwithstanding the evidence of Procopius, Evagrius, Idatius Marcellinus, &c., the learned Muratori (Annali d'Italia, tom.
iv. p. 249) doubts the reality of this invitation, and observes, with great truth, "Non si puo dir quanto sia facile il popolo
a sognare e spacciar voci false." But his argument, from the interval of time and place, is extremely feeble. The figs which
grew near Carthage were produced to the senate of Rome on the third day.
Whatever abilities Maximus might have shown in a subordinate station,
he was found incapable of administering an empire; and though he might
easily have been informed of the naval preparations which were made on
the opposite shores of Africa, he expected with supine indifference
the approach of the enemy, without adopting any measures of defence, of
negotiation, or of a timely retreat. When the Vandals disembarked at the
mouth of the Tyber, the emperor was suddenly roused from his lethargy
by the clamors of a trembling and exasperated multitude. The only hope
which presented itself to his astonished mind was that of a precipitate
flight, and he exhorted the senators to imitate the example of their
prince. But no sooner did Maximus appear in the streets, than he was
assaulted by a shower of stones; a Roman, or a Burgundian soldier,
claimed the honor of the first wound; his mangled body was ignominiously
cast into the Tyber; the Roman people rejoiced in the punishment which
they had inflicted on the author of the public calamities; and the
domestics of Eudoxia signalized their zeal in the service of their
mistress.42124212 Infidoque tibi Burgundio ductu Extorquet trepidas mactandi principis iras. —-Sidon. in Panegyr. Avit. 442. A remarkable line, which insinuates that Rome and Maximus were betrayed by their Burgundian mercenaries.

On the third day after the tumult, Genseric boldly advanced from the
port of Ostia to the gates of the defenceless city. Instead of a sally
of the Roman youth, there issued from the gates an unarmed and venerable
procession of the bishop at the head of his clergy.42134213The apparant success of Pope Leo may be justified by Prosper, and the Historia Miscellan.; but the improbable notion of Baronius
A.D. 455, (No. 13) that Genseric spared the three apostolical churches, is not countenanced even by the doubtful testimony
of the Liber Pontificalis.
The fearless
spirit of Leo, his authority and eloquence, again mitigated the
fierceness of a Barbarian conqueror; the king of the Vandals promised to
spare the unresisting multitude, to protect the buildings from fire,
and to exempt the captives from torture; and although such orders were
neither seriously given, nor strictly obeyed, the mediation of Leo was
glorious to himself, and in some degree beneficial to his country. But
Rome and its inhabitants were delivered to the licentiousness of
the Vandals and Moors, whose blind passions revenged the injuries of
Carthage. The pillage lasted fourteen days and nights; and all that yet
remained of public or private wealth, of sacred or profane treasure, was
diligently transported to the vessels of Genseric. Among the spoils, the
splendid relics of two temples, or rather of two religions, exhibited a
memorable example of the vicissitudes of human and divine things.

Since the abolition of Paganism, the Capitol had been violated and
abandoned; yet the statues of the gods and heroes were still respected,
and the curious roof of gilt bronze was reserved for the rapacious hands
of Genseric.42144214 The profusion of Catulus, the first who gilt the roof of the Capitol, was not universally approved, (Plin. Hist. Natur. xxxiii.
18;) but it was far exceeded by the emperor's, and the external gilding of the temple cost Domitian 12,000 talents, (2,400,000
L.) The expressions of Claudian and Rutilius (luce metalli oemula.... fastigia astris, and confunduntque vagos delubra micantia
visus) manifestly prove, that this splendid covering was not removed either by the Christians or the Goths, (see Donatus,
Roma Antiqua, l. ii. c. 6, p. 125.) It should seem that the roof of the Capitol was decorated with gilt statues, and chariots
drawn by four horses.
The holy instruments of the Jewish worship,42154215 The curious reader may consult the learned and accurate treatise of Hadrian Reland, de Spoliis Templi Hierosolymitani in
Arcu Titiano Romae conspicuis, in 12mo. Trajecti ad Rhenum, 1716.
the
gold table, and the gold candlestick with seven branches, originally
framed according to the particular instructions of God himself,
and which were placed in the sanctuary of his temple, had been
ostentatiously displayed to the Roman people in the triumph of Titus.
They were afterwards deposited in the temple of Peace; and at the end of
four hundred years, the spoils of Jerusalem were transferred from Rome
to Carthage, by a Barbarian who derived his origin from the shores
of the Baltic. These ancient monuments might attract the notice of
curiosity, as well as of avarice. But the Christian churches, enriched
and adorned by the prevailing superstition of the times, afforded more
plentiful materials for sacrilege; and the pious liberality of Pope Leo,
who melted six silver vases, the gift of Constantine, each of a hundred
pounds weight, is an evidence of the damage which he attempted to
repair. In the forty-five years that had elapsed since the Gothic
invasion, the pomp and luxury of Rome were in some measure restored;
and it was difficult either to escape, or to satisfy, the avarice of a
conqueror, who possessed leisure to collect, and ships to transport,
the wealth of the capital. The Imperial ornaments of the palace, the
magnificent furniture and wardrobe, the sideboards of massy plate, were
accumulated with disorderly rapine; the gold and silver amounted to
several thousand talents; yet even the brass and copper were laboriously
removed. Eudoxia herself, who advanced to meet her friend and deliverer,
soon bewailed the imprudence of her own conduct. She was rudely stripped
of her jewels; and the unfortunate empress, with her two daughters,
the only surviving remains of the great Theodosius, was compelled, as a
captive, to follow the haughty Vandal; who immediately hoisted sail, and
returned with a prosperous navigation to the port of Carthage.42164216 The vessel which transported the relics of the Capitol was the only one of the whole fleet that suffered shipwreck. If a
bigoted sophist, a Pagan bigot, had mentioned the accident, he might have rejoiced that this cargo of sacrilege was lost in
the sea.
Many thousand Romans of both sexes, chosen for some useful or agreeable
qualifications, reluctantly embarked on board the fleet of Genseric; and
their distress was aggravated by the unfeeling Barbarians, who, in the
division of the booty, separated the wives from their husbands, and
the children from their parents. The charity of Deogratias, bishop of
Carthage,42174217 See Victor Vitensis, de Persecut. Vandal. l. i. c. 8, p. 11, 12, edit. Ruinart. Deogratius governed the church of Carthage
only three years. If he had not been privately buried, his corpse would have been torn piecemeal by the mad devotion of the
people.
was their only consolation and support. He generously
sold the gold and silver plate of the church to purchase the freedom of
some, to alleviate the slavery of others, and to assist the wants and
infirmities of a captive multitude, whose health was impaired by the
hardships which they had suffered in their passage from Italy to Africa.
By his order, two spacious churches were converted into hospitals; the
sick were distributed into convenient beds, and liberally supplied with
food and medicines; and the aged prelate repeated his visits both in
the day and night, with an assiduity that surpassed his strength, and a
tender sympathy which enhanced the value of his services. Compare this
scene with the field of Cannae; and judge between Hannibal and the
successor of St. Cyprian.42184218 The general evidence for the death of Maximus, and the sack of Rome by the Vandals, is comprised in Sidonius, (Panegyr. Avit.
441-450,) Procopius, (de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 4, 5, p. 188, 189, and l. ii. c. 9, p. 255,) Evagrius, (l. ii. c. 7,) Jornandes,
(de Reb. Geticis, c. 45, p. 677,) and the Chronicles of Idatius, Prosper, Marcellinus, and Theophanes, under the proper year.

The deaths of Aetius and Valentinian had relaxed the ties which held
the Barbarians of Gaul in peace and subordination. The sea-coast was
infested by the Saxons; the Alemanni and the Franks advanced from the
Rhine to the Seine; and the ambition of the Goths seemed to meditate
more extensive and permanent conquests. The emperor Maximus relieved
himself, by a judicious choice, from the weight of these distant cares;
he silenced the solicitations of his friends, listened to the voice of
fame, and promoted a stranger to the general command of the forces of
Gaul.

Avitus,42194219 The private life and elevation of Avitus must be deduced, with becoming suspicion, from the panegyric pronounced by Sidonius
Apollinaris, his subject, and his son-in-law.
the stranger, whose merit was so nobly rewarded, descended
from a wealthy and honorable family in the diocese of Auvergne. The
convulsions of the times urged him to embrace, with the same ardor, the
civil and military professions: and the indefatigable youth blended the
studies of literature and jurisprudence with the exercise of arms and
hunting. Thirty years of his life were laudably spent in the public
service; he alternately displayed his talents in war and negotiation;
and the soldier of Aetius, after executing the most important embassies,
was raised to the station of Praetorian praefect of Gaul. Either the
merit of Avitus excited envy, or his moderation was desirous of
repose, since he calmly retired to an estate, which he possessed in the
neighborhood of Clermont. A copious stream, issuing from the mountain,
and falling headlong in many a loud and foaming cascade, discharged
its waters into a lake about two miles in length, and the villa was
pleasantly seated on the margin of the lake. The baths, the porticos,
the summer and winter apartments, were adapted to the purposes of luxury
and use; and the adjacent country afforded the various prospects of
woods, pastures, and meodows.42204220 After the example of the younger Pliny, Sidonius (l. ii. c. 2) has labored the florid, prolix, and obscure description of
his villa, which bore the name, (Avitacum,) and had been the property of Avitus. The precise situation is not ascertained.
Consult, however, the notes of Savaron and Sirmond.
In this retreat, where Avitus amused
his leisure with books, rural sports, the practice of husbandry, and
the society of his friends,42214221 Sidonius (l. ii. epist. 9) has described the country life of the Gallic nobles, in a visit which he made to his friends,
whose estates were in the neighborhood of Nismes. The morning hours were spent in the sphoeristerium, or tennis-court; or
in the library, which was furnished with Latin authors, profane and religious; the former for the men, the latter for the
ladies. The table was twice served, at dinner and supper, with hot meat (boiled and roast) and wine. During the intermediate
time, the company slept, took the air on horseback, and need the warm bath.
he received the Imperial diploma, which
constituted him master-general of the cavalry and infantry of Gaul. He
assumed the military command; the Barbarians suspended their fury; and
whatever means he might employ, whatever concessions he might be forced
to make, the people enjoyed the benefits of actual tranquillity. But
the fate of Gaul depended on the Visigoths; and the Roman general, less
attentive to his dignity than to the public interest, did not disdain to
visit Thoulouse in the character of an ambassador. He was received with
courteous hospitality by Theodoric, the king of the Goths; but while
Avitus laid the foundations of a solid alliance with that powerful
nation, he was astonished by the intelligence, that the emperor Maximus
was slain, and that Rome had been pillaged by the Vandals. A vacant
throne, which he might ascend without guilt or danger, tempted his
ambition;42224222 Seventy lines of panegyric (505-575) which describe the importunity of Theodoric and of Gaul, struggling to overcome the
modest reluctance of Avitus, are blown away by three words of an honest historian. Romanum ambisset Imperium, (Greg. Turon.
l. ii. c. 1l, in tom. ii. p. 168.)
and the Visigoths were easily persuaded to support his
claim by their irresistible suffrage. They loved the person of Avitus;
they respected his virtues; and they were not insensible of the
advantage, as well as honor, of giving an emperor to the West. The
season was now approaching, in which the annual assembly of the seven
provinces was held at Arles; their deliberations might perhaps be
influenced by the presence of Theodoric and his martial brothers; but
their choice would naturally incline to the most illustrious of their
countrymen. Avitus, after a decent resistance, accepted the Imperial
diadem from the representatives of Gaul; and his election was ratified
by the acclamations of the Barbarians and provincials. The formal
consent of Marcian, emperor of the East, was solicited and obtained; but
the senate, Rome, and Italy, though humbled by their recent calamities,
submitted with a secret murmur to the presumption of the Gallic usurper.

Theodoric, to whom Avitus was indebted for the purple, had acquired
the Gothic sceptre by the murder of his elder brother Torismond; and he
justified this atrocious deed by the design which his predecessor had
formed of violating his alliance with the empire.42234223 Isidore, archbishop of Seville, who was himself of the blood royal of the Goths, acknowledges, and almost justifies, (Hist.
Goth. p. 718,) the crime which their slave Jornandes had basely dissembled, (c 43, p. 673.)
Such a crime
might not be incompatible with the virtues of a Barbarian; but
the manners of Theodoric were gentle and humane; and posterity may
contemplate without terror the original picture of a Gothic king, whom
Sidonius had intimately observed, in the hours of peace and of social
intercourse. In an epistle, dated from the court of Thoulouse, the
orator satisfies the curiosity of one of his friends, in the following
description:42244224 This elaborate description (l. i. ep. ii. p. 2-7) was dictated by some political motive. It was designed for the public eye,
and had been shown by the friends of Sidonius, before it was inserted in the collection of his epistles. The first book was
published separately. See Tillemont, Memoires Eccles. tom. xvi. p. 264.
"By the majesty of his appearance, Theodoric would
command the respect of those who are ignorant of his merit; and although
he is born a prince, his merit would dignify a private station. He is
of a middle stature, his body appears rather plump than fat, and in his
well-proportioned limbs agility is united with muscular strength.42254225 I have suppressed, in this portrait of Theodoric, several minute circumstances, and technical phrases, which could be tolerable,
or indeed intelligible, to those only who, like the contemporaries of Sidonius, had frequented the markets where naked slaves
were exposed to male, (Dubos, Hist. Critique, tom. i. p. 404.)
If you examine his countenance, you will distinguish a high forehead,
large shaggy eyebrows, an aquiline nose, thin lips, a regular set of
white teeth, and a fair complexion, that blushes more frequently from
modesty than from anger. The ordinary distribution of his time, as
far as it is exposed to the public view, may be concisely represented.
Before daybreak, he repairs, with a small train, to his domestic chapel,
where the service is performed by the Arian clergy; but those who
presume to interpret his secret sentiments, consider this assiduous
devotion as the effect of habit and policy. The rest of the morning is
employed in the administration of his kingdom. His chair is surrounded
by some military officers of decent aspect and behavior: the noisy crowd
of his Barbarian guards occupies the hall of audience; but they are
not permitted to stand within the veils or curtains that conceal the
council-chamber from vulgar eyes. The ambassadors of the nations are
successively introduced: Theodoric listens with attention, answers them
with discreet brevity, and either announces or delays, according to the
nature of their business, his final resolution. About eight (the second
hour) he rises from his throne, and visits either his treasury or his
stables. If he chooses to hunt, or at least to exercise himself on
horseback, his bow is carried by a favorite youth; but when the game is
marked, he bends it with his own hand, and seldom misses the object of
his aim: as a king, he disdains to bear arms in such ignoble warfare;
but as a soldier, he would blush to accept any military service which he
could perform himself. On common days, his dinner is not different from
the repast of a private citizen, but every Saturday, many honorable
guests are invited to the royal table, which, on these occasions, is
served with the elegance of Greece, the plenty of Gaul, and the order
and diligence of Italy.42264226 Videas ibi elegantiam Graecam, abundantiam Gallicanam; celeritatem Italam; publicam pompam, privatam diligentiam, regiam
disciplinam.
The gold or silver plate is less remarkable
for its weight than for the brightness and curious workmanship: the
taste is gratified without the help of foreign and costly luxury; the
size and number of the cups of wine are regulated with a strict regard
to the laws of temperance; and the respectful silence that prevails, is
interrupted only by grave and instructive conversation. After dinner,
Theodoric sometimes indulges himself in a short slumber; and as soon as
he wakes, he calls for the dice and tables, encourages his friends to
forget the royal majesty, and is delighted when they freely express the
passions which are excited by the incidents of play. At this game, which
he loves as the image of war, he alternately displays his eagerness, his
skill, his patience, and his cheerful temper. If he loses, he laughs;
he is modest and silent if he wins. Yet, notwithstanding this seeming
indifference, his courtiers choose to solicit any favor in the moments
of victory; and I myself, in my applications to the king, have derived
some benefit from my losses.42274227 Tunc etiam ego aliquid obsecraturus feliciter vincor, et mihi tabula perit ut causa salvetur. Sidonius of Auvergne was not
a subject of Theodoric; but he might be compelled to solicit either justice or favor at the court of Thoulouse.
About the ninth hour (three o'clock)
the tide of business again returns, and flows incessantly till after
sunset, when the signal of the royal supper dismisses the weary crowd of
suppliants and pleaders. At the supper, a more familiar repast, buffoons
and pantomimes are sometimes introduced, to divert, not to offend, the
company, by their ridiculous wit: but female singers, and the soft,
effeminate modes of music, are severely banished, and such martial tunes
as animate the soul to deeds of valor are alone grateful to the ear
of Theodoric. He retires from table; and the nocturnal guards are
immediately posted at the entrance of the treasury, the palace, and the
private apartments."

When the king of the Visigoths encouraged Avitus to assume the purple,
he offered his person and his forces, as a faithful soldier of the
republic.42284228 Theodoric himself had given a solemn and voluntary promise of fidelity, which was understood both in Gaul and Spain. Romae sum, te duce, Amicus, Principe te, Miles. Sidon. Panegyr. Avit. 511.]
The exploits of Theodoric soon convinced the world that
he had not degenerated from the warlike virtues of his ancestors. After
the establishment of the Goths in Aquitain, and the passage of the
Vandals into Africa, the Suevi, who had fixed their kingdom in Gallicia,
aspired to the conquest of Spain, and threatened to extinguish the
feeble remains of the Roman dominion. The provincials of Carthagena and
Tarragona, afflicted by a hostile invasion, represented their injuries
and their apprehensions. Count Fronto was despatched, in the name of
the emperor Avitus, with advantageous offers of peace and alliance; and
Theodoric interposed his weighty mediation, to declare, that, unless his
brother-in-law, the king of the Suevi, immediately retired, he should be
obliged to arm in the cause of justice and of Rome. "Tell him," replied
the haughty Rechiarius, "that I despise his friendship and his arms; but
that I shall soon try whether he will dare to expect my arrival under
the walls of Thoulouse." Such a challenge urged Theodoric to prevent
the bold designs of his enemy; he passed the Pyrenees at the head of
the Visigoths: the Franks and Burgundians served under his standard; and
though he professed himself the dutiful servant of Avitus, he privately
stipulated, for himself and his successors, the absolute possession
of his Spanish conquests. The two armies, or rather the two nations,
encountered each other on the banks of the River Urbicus, about twelve
miles from Astorga; and the decisive victory of the Goths appeared for
a while to have extirpated the name and kingdom of the Suevi. From the
field of battle Theodoric advanced to Braga, their metropolis, which
still retained the splendid vestiges of its ancient commerce and
dignity.42294229 Quaeque sinu pelagi jactat se Bracara dives. Auson. de Claris Urbibus, p. 245. ——From the design of the king of the Suevi,
it is evident that the navigation from the ports of Gallicia to the Mediterranean was known and practised. The ships of Bracara,
or Braga, cautiously steered along the coast, without daring to lose themselves in the Atlantic.
His entrance was not polluted with blood; and the Goths
respected the chastity of their female captives, more especially of the
consecrated virgins: but the greatest part of the clergy and people were
made slaves, and even the churches and altars were confounded in the
universal pillage. The unfortunate king of the Suevi had escaped to one
of the ports of the ocean; but the obstinacy of the winds opposed his
flight: he was delivered to his implacable rival; and Rechiarius, who
neither desired nor expected mercy, received, with manly constancy,
the death which he would probably have inflicted. After this bloody
sacrifice to policy or resentment, Theodoric carried his victorious arms
as far as Merida, the principal town of Lusitania, without meeting any
resistance, except from the miraculous powers of St. Eulalia; but he was
stopped in the full career of success, and recalled from Spain before he
could provide for the security of his conquests. In his retreat towards
the Pyrenees, he revenged his disappointment on the country through
which he passed; and, in the sack of Pollentia and Astorga, he showed
himself a faithless ally, as well as a cruel enemy. Whilst the king of
the Visigoths fought and vanquished in the name of Avitus, the reign
of Avitus had expired; and both the honor and the interest of Theodoric
were deeply wounded by the disgrace of a friend, whom he had seated on
the throne of the Western empire.42304230 This Suevic war is the most authentic part of the Chronicle of Idatius, who, as bishop of Iria Flavia, was himself a spectator
and a sufferer. Jornandes (c. 44, p. 675, 676, 677) has expatiated, with pleasure, on the Gothic victory.

4208 Sidonius Apollinaris composed the thirteenth epistle of the second book, to refute the paradox of his friend Serranus, who
entertained a singular, though generous, enthusiasm for the deceased emperor. This epistle, with some indulgence, may claim
the praise of an elegant composition; and it throws much light on the character of Maximus.

4209 Clientum, praevia, pedisequa, circumfusa, populositas, is the train which Sidonius himself (l. i. epist. 9) assigns to another
senator of rank

4211 Notwithstanding the evidence of Procopius, Evagrius, Idatius Marcellinus, &c., the learned Muratori (Annali d'Italia, tom.
iv. p. 249) doubts the reality of this invitation, and observes, with great truth, "Non si puo dir quanto sia facile il popolo
a sognare e spacciar voci false." But his argument, from the interval of time and place, is extremely feeble. The figs which
grew near Carthage were produced to the senate of Rome on the third day.

4213The apparant success of Pope Leo may be justified by Prosper, and the Historia Miscellan.; but the improbable notion of Baronius
A.D. 455, (No. 13) that Genseric spared the three apostolical churches, is not countenanced even by the doubtful testimony
of the Liber Pontificalis.

4214 The profusion of Catulus, the first who gilt the roof of the Capitol, was not universally approved, (Plin. Hist. Natur. xxxiii.
18;) but it was far exceeded by the emperor's, and the external gilding of the temple cost Domitian 12,000 talents, (2,400,000
L.) The expressions of Claudian and Rutilius (luce metalli oemula.... fastigia astris, and confunduntque vagos delubra micantia
visus) manifestly prove, that this splendid covering was not removed either by the Christians or the Goths, (see Donatus,
Roma Antiqua, l. ii. c. 6, p. 125.) It should seem that the roof of the Capitol was decorated with gilt statues, and chariots
drawn by four horses.

4216 The vessel which transported the relics of the Capitol was the only one of the whole fleet that suffered shipwreck. If a
bigoted sophist, a Pagan bigot, had mentioned the accident, he might have rejoiced that this cargo of sacrilege was lost in
the sea.

4217 See Victor Vitensis, de Persecut. Vandal. l. i. c. 8, p. 11, 12, edit. Ruinart. Deogratius governed the church of Carthage
only three years. If he had not been privately buried, his corpse would have been torn piecemeal by the mad devotion of the
people.

4219 The private life and elevation of Avitus must be deduced, with becoming suspicion, from the panegyric pronounced by Sidonius
Apollinaris, his subject, and his son-in-law.

4220 After the example of the younger Pliny, Sidonius (l. ii. c. 2) has labored the florid, prolix, and obscure description of
his villa, which bore the name, (Avitacum,) and had been the property of Avitus. The precise situation is not ascertained.
Consult, however, the notes of Savaron and Sirmond.

4221 Sidonius (l. ii. epist. 9) has described the country life of the Gallic nobles, in a visit which he made to his friends,
whose estates were in the neighborhood of Nismes. The morning hours were spent in the sphoeristerium, or tennis-court; or
in the library, which was furnished with Latin authors, profane and religious; the former for the men, the latter for the
ladies. The table was twice served, at dinner and supper, with hot meat (boiled and roast) and wine. During the intermediate
time, the company slept, took the air on horseback, and need the warm bath.

4222 Seventy lines of panegyric (505-575) which describe the importunity of Theodoric and of Gaul, struggling to overcome the
modest reluctance of Avitus, are blown away by three words of an honest historian. Romanum ambisset Imperium, (Greg. Turon.
l. ii. c. 1l, in tom. ii. p. 168.)

4223 Isidore, archbishop of Seville, who was himself of the blood royal of the Goths, acknowledges, and almost justifies, (Hist.
Goth. p. 718,) the crime which their slave Jornandes had basely dissembled, (c 43, p. 673.)

4224 This elaborate description (l. i. ep. ii. p. 2-7) was dictated by some political motive. It was designed for the public eye,
and had been shown by the friends of Sidonius, before it was inserted in the collection of his epistles. The first book was
published separately. See Tillemont, Memoires Eccles. tom. xvi. p. 264.

4225 I have suppressed, in this portrait of Theodoric, several minute circumstances, and technical phrases, which could be tolerable,
or indeed intelligible, to those only who, like the contemporaries of Sidonius, had frequented the markets where naked slaves
were exposed to male, (Dubos, Hist. Critique, tom. i. p. 404.)

4227 Tunc etiam ego aliquid obsecraturus feliciter vincor, et mihi tabula perit ut causa salvetur. Sidonius of Auvergne was not
a subject of Theodoric; but he might be compelled to solicit either justice or favor at the court of Thoulouse.

4228 Theodoric himself had given a solemn and voluntary promise of fidelity, which was understood both in Gaul and Spain. Romae sum, te duce, Amicus, Principe te, Miles. Sidon. Panegyr. Avit. 511.]

4229 Quaeque sinu pelagi jactat se Bracara dives. Auson. de Claris Urbibus, p. 245. ——From the design of the king of the Suevi,
it is evident that the navigation from the ports of Gallicia to the Mediterranean was known and practised. The ships of Bracara,
or Braga, cautiously steered along the coast, without daring to lose themselves in the Atlantic.

4230 This Suevic war is the most authentic part of the Chronicle of Idatius, who, as bishop of Iria Flavia, was himself a spectator
and a sufferer. Jornandes (c. 44, p. 675, 676, 677) has expatiated, with pleasure, on the Gothic victory.